Positron emission tomography is a non-invasive diagnostic investigation technique for images, based on acquisition of images of the body (or of an anatomical region being examined) of a patient who has been administered a radiopharmaceutical including a tracer radionuclide with short half-life, which is a positron emitter, bound to biologically active vector molecules. The images are acquired using suitable equipment (PET, Positron Emission Tomography, scanner) that detects pairs of gamma photons, originating from the annihilation of the positrons emitted with electrons.
The PET images make it possible to describe the position and evaluate the intensity of the biochemical processes within a patient's tissues.